Zapu pledges 50% seats to youth in 2018 elections

DUMISO Dabengwa’s Zapu leadership has pledged to allow the party’s youth to contest at least 50% of its parliamentary and council seats in the upcoming general elections.

BY SILAS NKALA

Zapu deputy spokesperson, Iphithule Maphosa said the party’s national executive committee met in Bulawayo on Saturday and resolved to promote youth participation in the forthcoming polls in line with their leadership renewal policy.

“Zapu believes problems faced by today’s Zimbabwean youths are as a result of poor governance by (President Robert) Mugabe and Zanu PF, a government that has been an axis of exclusion in as far as youth are concerned,” he said.

“Therefore, the liberation movement believes involving the young generation in all processes from party to the national agenda is a critical component in finding solutions and addressing the problems.”

Maphosa said the youth should be given opportunities to occupy top party positions in order to address challenges faced by their peers, among them unemployment, disparities in opportunities-both for education, training and jobs, being used as merchants of violence and intimidation by greedy politicians during election time.

He said since their congress last year, they had taken huge steps towards promoting youth participation in internal and external political process, including drafting some of them into the party’s national executive committee.

Zapu has scaled up its 2018 election campaigns with several political campaign rallies lined up in most parts of the country.